Year: 2017

Encounter underway in Kupwara, 2 to 3 terrorists trapped

Editor

An encounter broke out between the security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday. The firing is currently underway and the entire area has been cordoned off. About two to three terrorists are believed to be trapped, reported news agency ANI. On August 16, top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Ayub Lelhari was gunned in an encounter with security forces in Kakpora’s Banderpora in Pulwama district.

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116 PoK residents stranded in Jammu sent back via Uri

Editor

The J&K Government sent 116 stranded residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) back home as the cross-Line of Control (LoC) bus service operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad resumed today. The LoC bus service also known as Karvan-e-Aman (peace bus) resumed after remaining suspended since August 14. As per the schedule, the weekly bus left Srinagar today for the Kaman post, the last Indian military post on this side of the LoC in the border town of Uri in Baramulla district. The bus carried 50 passengers, including 42 PoK residents and eight…

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Supreme Court says dialogue not possible in J&K unless violence stops

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No meaningful dialogue is possible in Jammu and Kashmir unless violence stops in the strife-torn Valley, the Supreme Court said on Monday. “Talks with whom? No talk can take place unless the violence stops,” a bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud said. The court was hearing the appeal of the Bar Association Executive Member against the 22 September order of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court order. The high court had rejected the bar body’s plea seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns on…

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Kashmir will witness bloodbath if Article 35A scrapped: KEA

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Appeals civil society, transporters, trade bodies to observe black day on the day of hearing of case in SC The trade body, Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), Monday warned that Kashmir would witness a worst bloodbath if anybody tried to fiddle with Article 35-A, which grants special privileges to residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The traders affiliated with KEA staged a protest demonstration against BJP and RSS-backed NGO, “We the citizens”, which has filed petition against Article 35-A in the Supreme Court. The protesting traders, chanting slogans like, “Save Article 370…

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Ensure no hindrance in animal sacrifice on Eid: Shahi Imam

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Asserting that Muslims were not in favour of sacrificing cows due to the religious sensitivities involved, Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam said on Monday that he had urged the Centre to ensure no hindrance in the sacrifice of other animals on Eid-ul-Azha but got no response. Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari said he had written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue a few weeks ago but the Ministry had neither acknowledged nor responded to his letter. Eid-ul-Azha is scheduled to be celebrated on September 2. In his letter, the…

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Zakir Musa back in action, vows to take jihad to the last corner of India

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Nearly 10 days after reports that al-Qaeda’s recently announced Kashmir unit chief Zakir Musa was trapped by security forces in Pulwama’s Tral area, the Burhan Wani successor is back in action. In a detailed statement, surfaced on Saturday, Musa-led Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a unit of al-Qaeda, has openly threatened Indian authorities, vowing to “take jihad to the last corner” of the country and by listing its targets. Al-Hurr, the propaganda arm of the newly formed terror group, posted the three-page statement on social media, which was accessed and put forth by…

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Geelani seeks ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriat’ to resolve Kashmir Issue

Editor

Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has sought “insaniyat”, Kashmiriyat” and “Jamhooriat” to resolve the Kashmir dispute — ideas he derided when then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee propagated them in 2003. “We want India to exhibit insaniyat (humanity), Kashmiriyat (composite secular, eclectic Kashmiri culture) and jamhuriat (democracy). Nothing else,” the ailing octogenarian Hurriyat Chairman said, talking to his supporters in a videographed address from a hospital here. The nearly 2.30-minute video clip, recorded apparently on Sunday, comes amid the NIA swooping on Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Geelani’s two…

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Not just one, three petitions challenge Article 35A

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As Jammu and Kashmir is in a bit of uncertainty over the challenge to Article 35A of Indian Constitution in the Supreme Court, it has come to fore that not just one but three petitions challenging the validity of the law have been filed in the apex court. From questioning the President’s powers to claims that Article 35A violates basic structure of the Constitution of India and promotes gender bias, the petitioners have taken different grounds to challenge the Constitutional provision that grants special rights to residents of Jammu and…

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After PM’s Kashmir outreach, 4 Member team from Delhi visits south Kashmir

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‘Group intends to open communication channels with Hurriyat’ Soon after former external affairs minister, Yashwant Sinha’s team wound up its third visit to Kashmir on Saturday, yet another team arrived in the Valley and travelled to south Kashmir. The team headed by the Chairman Indian Council of Food and Agriculture, M J Khan comprises noted journalist Shahid Siddiqui, West Asia expert Qamar Agha and Justice (Rtd) Ishrat Masroor Quddusi. The foursome soon after landing in Srinagar, travelled to south Kashmir, which has been the epicenter of protests after the killing…

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Claims galore on Article 35A

Editor

As nationwide debate on Article 35A of the Constitution has started, self-proclaimed experts on Kashmir are staking claims that it was all due to their exclusive studies that countrywide discussions on this provision have begun. Recently, a seminar on Article 35A was held at Jammu, attended by members of the civil society. Interestingly, most of the speakers made every attempt to give an impression to the civil society that just they have the real authority on the Article. Instead of discussing the ‘pros and cons’ of the Article, speakers tried…

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